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甜菜 (tián cài) — beet; beetroot; sugar beet

Definition

noun
beetbeetrootsugar beet
Measure word · 棵

Examples

  • 甜菜。
    Wǒ mā ma xǐ huan yòng tián cài zuò tāng.
    My mom likes to use beets to make soup.
  • 甜菜，。
    Zhè zhǒng tián cài cháng dé hěn kuài, liǎng gè yuè jiù néng shōu.
    This kind of beet grows very fast and can be harvested in two months.
  • 甜菜。
    Táng chǎng yòng tián cài lái shēng chǎn bái táng.
    The sugar factory uses beets to produce white sugar.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

甜tiánsweet
菜càivegetable

甜 gives the sweet quality, and 菜 names the plant or vegetable.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

甜 puts 舌 (tongue) next to 甘 (sweet), showing sweetness as something the tongue perceives.

Open 甜 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
艹Written in full as艸cǎograss; plant
Sound part声符shēngfú
采
采cǎi菜cài
Same sound today

菜 has 艹 (grass/plants) on top and 采 below; the top part shows it is a plant, while 采 gives the sound.

Open 菜 →
Appears in
Vegetables

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